Introduction
Substance abuse such as the use of illegal drugs and alcohol affects every demographic group, regardless of race, ethnicity, economic status, gender, occupation, or occupation. It is easy to understand the negative effects of drug abuse. Chemicals that are inhaled, injected, and ingested can create mind-altering effects. It can also damage brain cells and other tissues of the body creating a chain reaction of events that can cause depression, irritability, and thoughts of suicide. Aside from the mental and emotional problems related to substance abuse, there is also evidence to show that those who use illicit drugs are at an elevated risk for infectious diseases (Popova et al., 2007). It is therefore imperative to develop strategies for health promotion to reduce the number of teenagers, the most at-risk family member when it comes to drug abuse.
Profile
Drug users can be found at every level of society. Young and old, rich and poor, Blacks, Hispanics, or Caucasians, are not immune to the temptation as well as the negative impact of using illicit drugs. But without a doubt, teenagers are the most at-risk family member when it comes to the temptation of experimenting with banned substances. Teenagers have plenty of time and access to funds that can be used to finance their drug habit.
Their source of income can come from their parents in the form of allowances or they can also work part-time to increase their ability to purchase drugs. At this stage of development, teenagers prefer to make their own decisions but sometimes they are unaware of the consequences of their actions. It is therefore interesting as well as more beneficial to study substance abuse in the context of teenagers and their families. If parents can develop strategies so that their children will understand the peril of substance abuse, they can give them the necessary tools to reject the temptation of drug use when they reach puberty.
The problem of non-medical drug use among adolescent students began to rise in the 1990s (Adlaf et al., 2000). This resurgence in substance abuse among teens has been a global phenomenon (Adlaf et al., 2000). In the United States alone, between the period 1991 and 1999 the following survey results was a warning to families as well as to the medical community:
…the proportion of students who reported using marijuana in the ear before being surveyed increased from 6.2% to 16.5% among those in grade 8, from 16.5% to 32.1% among that in grade 10, and from 23.9% to 37.8% among those in grade 12 (Adlaf et al., 2000).
There are two pieces of information that speak volumes when it comes to the problem of drug abuse. The first one is the high number of students who use marijuana in the twelfth grade, a mind-boggling 37.8%. This is almost half the student population in the said grade level. It can even be argued, that the mere fact, that one-third of students in a particular group are drug users is already a major health issue. But this is not the only distressing result of the said survey, it was also pointed out that 16.5% of grade 8 students are already experimenting with drugs. It is difficult to understand why children at such a young age are already contemplating using drugs. This calls for more interaction between parents and their children as well as other elements of society because this problem could not be solved without involving the whole community.
Impact of Drug Use
The first major issue with non-medical drug use is dependence. If a teenager is dependent on marijuana, cocaine, methamphetamine, etc. it will not take long before they will realize, that this habit is a financial burden that can force them to become petty thieves (Bennett & Holloway). This habit can also force them to become drug pushers. Their habit can be unwittingly supported by their family if they have access to money aside from the weekly or monthly allowances that they are receiving from their parents. If they have no access to funds and valuables they can sell to their friends and their network of drug users so they can continue with their drug use.
The second major issue is the mental health problems associated with illicit drug use. According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, the short-term effect of marijuana is paranoia and hallucinations while its long-term effect could be psychological dependence that requires more of the drug to get the same effect (SAMHSA, 2009). With methamphetamine use, the psychological impact can be anxiety and violent behavior. Cocaine users on the other hand can experience “coke bugs”, hallucinating that there are imaginary insects crawling over their skin. There is also the problem of “cocaine psychosis”, losing touch with reality and losing interest with friends and family (SAMHSA, 2009). In general, drug users are at a higher risk of having multiple mental health problems such as depression, antisocial personality, and attempted suicide (Popova et al., 2007). This is just the beginning because drugs can destroy both mind and body.
Finally, the third major issue when it comes to non-medical drug use is the adverse physical effects of the chemicals found in marijuana, methamphetamines, cocaine, solvents, etc. on the human body. For methamphetamine users are at a greater risk to experience the following health conditions:
- increased heart rate and blood pressure;
- decreased appetite;
- respiratory problems;
- extreme anorexia;
- irreversible damage to blood vessels in the brain that can lead to stroke (SAMHSA, 2009).
For cocaine users, on the other hand, the physical risks can include brain seizure as well as the significant reduction of the body’s ability to resist and combat infections (SAMHSA, 2009). In general drug use can result in overdose, drug poisoning as well as adverse drug interactions due to the use of multiple drug combinations (Popova et al., 2007). Another related health issue is the observation that adolescents who use illegal substances are likely to engage in risky sexual behavior (Brown & Wells, 2005). This means that HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases can be transferred from one drug user to the next.
Prevention and Nursing Practice
In one study one of the major reasons that help encourage teenagers to experiment with illegal drugs was linked to parental apathy (Brown & Wells, 2005). Parents should spend quality time with their children because this is the only way that they can detect problems. Serious drug use begins with cigarette smoking or alcohol consumption. This can progress to marijuana and the more expensive methamphetamine or cocaine. When parents spend time with their children they will be able to notice the following tell-tale signs and they should be able to talk, confront or ask assistance if they find their children:
- lying;
- giving up activities that their children used to enjoy doing such as sports;
- getting into trouble with the law;
- taking unnecessary risks;
- feeling hopeless, depressed, and suicidal;
- missing work or poor work performance (SAMHSA, 2009).
Families must work in partnership with schools and government institutions to promote health education and public campaigns (Bennett & Holloway, 2008). There are effective prevention strategies that can be adopted by schools or the community. One example is the Preparing for the Drug-Free Years or PDFY (Brown & Wells, 2005). The PDFY program was designed to increase parent-child communication, family activities as well as anger and conflict management (Brown & Wells, 2005). When prevention is no longer practical parents must be the first to learn about the importance of harm-reduction strategies such as enrolling their drug-dependent teenagers into drug treatment programs.
Nurses are well-trained to detect and understand the implications of diseases attributable to illegal drug use. Examples are Hepatitis, HIV/AIDS, and other infectious diseases that can be transmitted through the sharing of needles as well as risky sexual behavior when sexual intercourse was done under the influence of drugs (Popova et. al., 2007). The advanced practitioner can do two things. First, the nurse can suggest drug treatment. In one study, it was revealed that there are only a few drug dependents that are undergoing treatment (Bennett & Holloway, 2008). The nurse can implement harm-reduction strategies by educating drug users of the negative consequences of behavior especially when it comes to needle sharing and engaging in risky sexual behavior.
Discussion
As mentioned earlier, the impact of drug use in the family can be traced to dependence, meaning the drug addict will need significant amounts of money to support his or her drug habit (Bennett & Holloway, 2008). Those who belong to rich families and have parents who willingly or unwittingly support this behavior – by allowing their children to have access to funds – may continue with drug use and pose little danger to society because they limit their destructive behavior to themselves and their families. But those who have limited funds will be forced to steal or sell the banned substance to the community. This will perpetuate the vicious cycle. Death resulting from overdose and other related health problems will not mitigate the impact of drug use because there are newcomers to the dangerous habit of drug use.
Drugs are therefore products that are being consumed without benefit to the family and society as a whole. But this is not the only way that drug use becomes a financial drain to the family, the community, and the federal government. The need for medical treatment as well as rehabilitation can be a considerable burden to the family. The Federal Government is also spending more money to address this problem. These funds should go to education, healthcare, and other ways to improve the community and not to drug intervention and drug treatment facilities. For the families who are directly affected by this problem their money should have been used for more important matters but instead their hard-earned money goes down the drain because of their son or their daughter’s problem with drug abuse.
Aside from the financial burden of supporting the drug habit and the need for more money when medical treatment and rehabilitation are already needed, parents also have to contend with the criminal aspect of drug use. Their children may resort to selling drugs and if convicted can serve time in jail. Needless to say, their children are facing a bleak future. Aside from selling drugs, a crime can be committed while under the influence of drugs. For instance, a common effect of methamphetamine and cocaine abuse is paranoia and violent behavior (SAMHSA, 2009). The serious problems that result from drug use should encourage parents to look into effective prevention strategies. In this case, prevention is much better than cure.
Nurses will play a major role in the fight against drug use among teenagers. An advanced practitioner is well aware of the fact that there is such a thing as drug-attributable morbidity and health workers can help, especially when correct assessment can be completed in time so that they can suggest the appropriate intervention strategy. Nurses can help in information gathering that in turn will result in a more focused treatment program for the patient. This means that patients that are seeking treatment for drug-related problems will also be given the chance to consider drug rehabilitation programs. Nurses can also help in health education and public campaigns with regards to drug abuse and diseases related to drug abuse.
References
Adlaf, E., et al. (2000). Nonmedical drug use among adolescent students: highlights from the 1999 Ontario student drug use survey. Canadian Medical Association Journal. 162(12): 1677-1680.
Bennett, T. & K. Holloway. (2008). Identifying and preventing health problems among young drug-misusing offenders. Health Education, 108(3): 247-261.
Brown, E. & S. Wells. (2005). A Faith-Based Integrated Substance Abuse and HIV Prevention Program for Rural African American Adolescents. Journal of the American Psychiatric Nurses Association, 11, 344-350.
Popova, S. et al. (2007). Illegal drug-attributable morbidity in Canada 2002. Drug and Alcohol Review, 26, 251-263.
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). (2009). “Straight Facts About Drugs and Alcohol.”. Web.